Across The Universe
by Bellicose
Summary: The story of how Riddick gave Johns the scar. Rated M for slight violence and lots of language. Pre-Pitch Black.


Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in the following story. The characters and most of the background plot belong to the creators of the Chronicles of Riddick series. The title has nothing to do with the movie/song 'Across the Universe,' but if the owners of it would like credit, sure. That's not mine either. I am making no profit from this, as it is merely fanfiction.

Author's Note: So I'm not totally pleased with this, particularly the ending. I might take it down in six months to re-write it. I had a majority of it written, then I got bored and just wanted to finish it. But alas, it is finished, which is a big accomplishment for me. This started out as a huge story I was co-writing that was supposed to go past Pitch Black. It got all planned out and everything, but the interest was gone pretty fast. So this is the first chapter of the story and it works pretty well as a standalone piece. So, I hope you enjoy!

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I thought I had made myself clear with the last group of mercs that were on my ass. I could have sworn that my 'I'm not the one to fuck with' message was obvious. Apparently not, since some slick-shit merc named Johns had finally caught up to me after six months of near misses, cheap shots, and lucky guesses. Now he's got me running through an alley on some God-fearing holy planet like a common convict. Fuckin' insulting. I thought this planet would keep those pigs off my trail for awhile.

I slowed to a walk, listening for any signs that Johns had somehow managed to pick up my trail. I pulled my goggles down onto my eyes, no longer needing the aid of my night vision as the sun had fully emerged from behind the clouds to lighten the sky. I slipped onto the main street unnoticed, merging into the crowd of people heading to and from their various places of interest.

_I'm not sure if it's good that I can't see Johns or if he's just waiting for me to slip. Well, fuck the punk. I'm not making this easy on him. _

I pulled my hood over my head, trying to make myself blend as much as possible with the brightly colored robes around me. Before I could slither further into the center of the moving crowd, I saw a flash of dull gray to my left, followed by a shriek from a bystander.

_You're getting slow, Riddick. It only took the punk ten minutes to find you. _

I was out of the crowd before I actually saw the persistent merc, who was fighting his way through the startled people. I darted down the main street, heading towards the docking station. Arriving at the large, populated building, I stopped dead in my tracks, noting the armed guards surrounding the door.

_What the hell kind of holy planet has two dozen armed guards around their ships? Fucking rich people._

I went around back, looking for a more simple way inside that didn't involve me making a scene. I snuck a glance around the corner of the building, seeing a small maintenance door to one of the hangars. Before I could move, I felt a small prick on my arm. I looked down, raising an eyebrow at the small tranquilizer dart that was embedded in my skin.

_Fuck Riddick, you're getting predictable if the punk knows your next move before you do. And then to let him sneak up on you... ridiculous. _

The drugs brought me to a knee, my head just hazy enough to disorient me. Johns was at least smart enough to capitalize on his open window, as he tackled me to the ground. I rolled, trying to throw him off of me. Johns kneed me in the side, attempting to contain my hands with cuffs.

_Like that single dart had enough drugs to keep me down for more than a second. Please, I eat tranqs for breakfast. Nice try, Rookie._

My goggles protected my eyes from the dirt flying around us as we both struggled to gain the upper hand. I head butted him and shoved him away, getting to my feet and pulling out my recently acquired shiv.

"It's the end of the road, Riddick. Time to take your merc-killin' ass back to slam." Johns pulled out his nightstick, a blade appearing in his other hand.

"Fuck you. First of all, you haven't cuffed me and put me on a ship yet. Second, where you gonna take me? Slam City? Butcher Bay? They leave a cell open, in case I stop by. I'll be out in ten minutes flat. Then you'll be huntin' my merc-killin' ass across the universe again." We circled each other, both looking for an opportunity to strike. And fuck me if we weren't six feet from the port guards' line of sight. That's just what I needed.

"Nah, Riddick. Your fifteen minutes of fame are up. I'm taking you to the closest triple max slam and I'm collecting the glorious bounty that's been on your head for quite some time now."

"Oh yeah, how much am I worth?"

"Six hundred thousand just for your dead carcass, but since I'm a greedy son of a bitch, I want the one mil for bringin' you in kickin' and screamin'."

I chuckled darkly, the sound vibrating through my chest. "Don't get cocky, Johns. Cocky bastards make mistakes. And you know that the first mistake you make will be your last." His eyes narrowed and his body tensed, hands clenching around his weapons. _That's right. Get angry. Slip up. That's what I'm waiting for. _"Why don't you be a good little bitch and walk away before I slit your throat." He rushed me before the words had finished leaving my mouth. _Predictable_. I sidestepped him, elbowing him in the back, making him stumble. "That all you got, Johns?"

He came back swinging, the nightstick barely missing my face. His knee came up for a cheap shot, but I smashed the handle of my shiv into his face. _Cheater. Can't even play fairly_. His blade hit my arm as his nightstick smashed against my ribs. I knocked him to the ground, the offending stick flying from his hand. He yelled as my foot hit his side. _Are you trying to attract the guards? This isn't a tag team match, Johns_. He stuck his foot out before I could continue my attack, effectively tripping me. He scrambled to his feet and was immediately on me as I began to stand up. His shiv came towards me, but mine was faster.

_Ah, the sweet spot. Delicious_.

He let out a yelp at the intrusion, only spurring me to dig the blade deeper. I heard commotion coming from the back door of the hangar.

_Guess I'll have to cut this short_.

"It was nice knowing you, Johns. Do me a favor and die slowly." I gave the homemade shiv a final push, then twisted, effectively breaking the blade from the handle. I turned from him, leaving him to bleed bit by bit. I jumped into the trees lining the back of the hangar, hiding myself from the guards as they ran by me to investigate the source of the noise. I slipped quickly to the small door as the guards came upon Johns' bleeding body. The poor bastard was trying to get up, the guards watching him cautiously and calling for others to get help. Johns tried to follow after me, but the guards insisted that he sit down until a medic arrived. I smirked at him, then slipped thru the door into the hangar. There were fewer guards standing around than I had imagined, which was fine with me. I looked around, easily spotting Johns' ship sitting carelessly to the left.

_Perfect._

I walked as casually as possible towards the skiff, trying not to draw any unwanted attention to myself. I needed to get out as quickly as possible, before Johns informed the watchmen of my presence. I got into the ship with little problem and jogged up to the pilot's chair, hastily typing in commands to get ready for take off. I kept my eyes on the occupants of the building, incase someone realized that I wasn't the merc who owned this piece of junk. Just as I began steering towards the hangar door, I saw a group of people coming towards the ship. Without much effort, I could pick out Johns' pale form limping at the front of the group, yelling hoarse orders to close the hangar bay door and surround the ship.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Riddick!" I could read the words on his shaky lips as he sneered smugly. I smirked back and continued my way to the door. I sped up, just barely getting the small vessel out before the door closed. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and tried to decide where I wanted to go. Deciding on Aquila Prime, I punched in the coordinates and settled myself in for the journey.

_I should have killed him when I had the chance. _


End file.
